Historically, tenants gave property managers and owners their Social Security number on a paper application, which allowed the property representative to pull their credit and background. Today, we do not recommend this approach.
For security and safety, it is better to have the applicant initiate the report through their own dashboard. Here is why.
1. Security
To pull an applicant’s credit for them, you would need the applicant to hand over personally identifiable information, including their Social Security number (SSN). That is not secure, and you do not want the risk of holding someone else’s SSN. This information should never sit on a piece of paper or anywhere that is not encrypted.
2. Transparency
Both the applicant and the property representative receive a copy of the report. If you decline an applicant based on credit, it helps for them to see why. They may also be able to use the report for future rentals instead of having their credit pulled again. Please note that reports are only available for a limited time, so applicants should download their copy as soon as it is ready. For details, see our article “How Long Does a Screening Report Stay Visible Before Expiring?”
3. Impact to Score
When the applicant initiates the pull on their own credit through Hemlane, it is a soft pull and will not affect their credit score. If the property representative pulls credit on the applicant’s behalf outside of this process, it may negatively impact the applicant’s credit score.
The Best Approach
Have the applicant create an account on Hemlane and initiate the report themselves. It protects you from the liability of holding information prone to identity theft, and it benefits the applicant through both their score and application transparency.
keywords: credit, security, score, credit score, SSN, ssn, social security number